Four years into McCloughan's tenure, the 49ers still need high-impact offensive skill players. Receiver is an annual area of need, although Josh Morgan and Jason Hill show signs of being competent given more experience.

Popular opinion varies widely on whether the 49ers should choose a quarterback in the early rounds to compete with Smith and Shaun Hill. If Mark Sanchez of USC is still on the board at No. 10, he'll draw plenty of attention, but McCloughan seems equally interested in quarterbacks who would be available in later rounds.

San Francisco is almost certain to choose a big running back at some point early in the draft. With Singletary and new offensive coordinator Jimmy Raye determined to run the ball aggressively in every game, they want a counterpoint to Gore's shifty speed who can take some pressure off a talented back with a lifelong propensity for injury.

But each of these concerns could take a back seat in the first round if Boston College's B.J. Raji is still available. His drug travails notwithstanding, the 49ers seem interested in exactly the type of nose tackle personified by Raji, who could make every San Francisco linebacker better by clogging up the line and penetrating into the backfield.

The 49ers also will unveil their new uniforms at the draft-day party. The team is expected to wear something resembling its everyday uniforms during the franchise's best seasons in the 1980s before it fell into the decade-long decline of the York family's ownership era.